LET THE CHILDREN COME TO ME
Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time Scriptural Readings: Joshua 24:14-29; Psalm 16:1-2a+5, 7-8, 11; Matthew 19:13-15
My dear encountered couples:
There are parents who bring their children to God soon after they are born and have them baptized; there are others who say they will let their children grow up and make up their own minds about belief in God and baptism. I think the choice the parents make in this matter is a sign of how much they themselves believe in God. Would anyone sincerely and deeply convinced in the reality of God and his goodness hesitate to bring their children to him?
Jesus loved children; he loved their innocence, their openness, their reaching out for goodness. When the parents brought their children to him and the apostles tried to keep them away so Jesus wouldn’t be bothered, he said, “Let the children come to me. Do not hinder them. The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
You are a child of God. Jesus and his Father love you so very much. Turn to them often during the day and just say, “Hello.” You might not be innocent anymore, but I hope you are always open to God’s Spirit within you. Jesus laid his hands on the heads of the children. Ask him to lay his hands on you each day and give you his blessing. Then take it and share it with someone else.
